How often do you hear any of the above? The interesting thing is, a lot of these are moving from being brand names / objects towards activities, verbs. Google it. Tweeted. Others are getting there.

There’s a more subtle shift happening under the surface, too. It’s not just that these are some tools / applications that are becoming popular to the point of ubiquity, indispensability. It goes even deeper. Look at the unspoken assumption that lies behind Googling something, searching for an app that can do what you want, looking up an address on a GPS, and assuming everyone is 10 digits away at any time.

It’s an assumption that there is, there in the Cloud, a repository of data, information, and knowledge that exists. Someone, somewhere in the world has had the same problem we have had, and has found an answer. That answer is out there and accessible.I don’t need to know how to fix something, know something, as long as I can correctly identify and find the person who has.

It seems kinda obvious – that’s one core concept of the Internet, anyway – but the point I’m trying to make is, it goes deeper. Our brains are starting to operate on a Cloud paradigm. Don’t need to remember, only process. Knowledge belongs to the community.